


The End of Everything

by hopefullovegood



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Comforting Each Other, Fluff, M/M, Mild Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Soft Draco, Soft Harry, Two kids who didn't have enough time, apocalypse but it's soft, completely self indulgent, feelings: i have so many of them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 08:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30018615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefullovegood/pseuds/hopefullovegood
Summary: On a Friday night, two boys are standing on a roof together. Their hands are clasped together, because the world is ending.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	The End of Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Noah Cyrus' song 'The End of Everything'.
> 
> Inspired by Keaton St. James' poem 'Rural Boys Watch the Apocalypse'.

_It’s a song that we were born to sing,_

\- 

On a Friday night two boys are standing on a roof together.  
Two boys are standing on a roof and their hands are clasped together, pale skin contrasting with dark.  
Hands are clasped together as the stars blink out, one by one.  
On a Friday night, two boys are standing on a roof together, and their hands are clasped together, because the world is ending. 

\- 

The house they’re standing on is filled to the brim with memories, good and bad. Entire families going dark, children being brainwashed, curses in the walls, the stairs, the portraits. Sleepless nights, weeks with no one but the quiet for company, drunken afternoons.  
But later also, healing ever so slowly, the loving brush strokes of a friend all over the walls, cautious laughter. Family slowly dripping back in, hands being held tightly, hugs that heal.  
Pain slowly easing.  
And much later, walking in to love for once, instead of falling, falling, falling. Forgiveness, gentleness, and the genuine belief in a kinder tomorrow. A little family of two, built on foundations of peace and love. A house where the doors no longer slam, where curses are no longer thrown, where it’s warm, and light, and easy. 

\- 

Harry grew up thinking he had an infinite amount of time. Minutes, or hours, or days in an empty cupboard with only the spiders for company. Never knowing how long it’d take until he’d get his next meal. Scrubbing floors and the bathroom and the kitchen sink for what felt like so long, only for them to never be clean enough to stop. 

But then he became a teenager and realized he didn’t have anything near enough time. Not enough time to do his homework, to go to his classes, to feel wat friendship is like, to fall in love. Not enough time to be an idiot, an arsehole, a teenager. Not enough time to figure out what they were supposed to do that dreadful year in the woods. Not enough time to save Sirius. Or Remus, or Tonks, or Fred, or Dobby, or Lavender, or Colin Creevey, who had looked so small in death.  
Not enough time with his parents. 

Now, as he’s watching the stars blink out, he realizes time has always been feeble, has always been relative. Has never meant anything, not really. He’s 27 and had lived three times as much as most people thrice his age have.  
Has lost everything, gained everything, risked everything.  
Has run out of time not once, but twice before. 

This time, there is a desolate knowingness that he will not come back.  
This time, he isn’t alone. 

\- 

“I can’t believe the Prophet wrote the truth for once,” Harry murmurs.  
“There’s a first for everything, though I always thought it’d be more dramatic than this,” Draco says softly.  
“Fire and lightning and curses all over the place, huh? Zeus coming down from the heavens?” Harry asks. He can heart the faintest hint of a smile in Draco’s voice when he replies,  
“Something like that, yeah.” Harry squeezes his hand,  
“I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime. All I want is you.” 

A quarter of the stars has gone out already. 

\- 

Somewhere far away a siren starts to go off and Harry realizes he’s left his wand inside. Wandlessly he casts a silencing charm. All that’s left is his and Draco’s breathing.  
“Dance with me,” Draco says. Harry looks up, and their eyes meet. How could he ever refuse.  
He lets his arms rest on Draco’s shoulder, his left hand hanging behind his neck, his right brushing slow circles over the back of his neck. Draco puts his hands around his lower back, pulling them together as closely as they can possibly be. Chest against chest, foreheads leaning together.  
Quietly, Draco hums a tune. And despite everything, Harry smiles. 

The song they danced to in a disgusting bar in a corner of muggle London where they weren’t The Boy Who Lived Twice and the Death Eater, or Malfoy and Potter, but Harry and Draco, for the very first time. The song they danced to when everyone else had left the dance floor at Dean and Seamus’ little wedding, swaying back and forth slowly. The song they danced their first dance to at their wedding. 

_Something in the way she moves,_

\- 

Scars. They have so many of them.  
As the night becomes darker and darker, at least half the stars are gone now, they become less and less visible.  
Draco runs his hand over the lightning starting on Harry’s forehead, all the way down to his left cheekbone, pressing soft kisses where his hands have been. He runs his hand over his chest, right where Harry’s heart is, where there’s more lightning. He brushes over the back of his hand, Umbridge’s reminder still carved in there.  
He’s saying everything without saying anything.

You’ll always be safe with me.  
I cherish every part of you.  
I love you. 

\- 

The stars are blinking out faster now. 

“Don’t let go of my hand, alright?” Harry says, panic finally starting to set in, “No matter what, don’t let go.” Draco squeezes his hand, grounds him,  
“I won’t. You’re the love of my life, darling. And you’ll be my love for whatever comes next.” 

\- 

“Does it hurt?” Harry hears the fear in the question. He lifts his head from where it was resting on Draco’s shoulder, and their eyes meet. A million memories pass between them with just that one look. 

A rejected handshake, a broken nose on the train, blood all over the bathroom floor.  
Fights, genuine apologies, rebuilding.  
Tangled bedsheets that smell of citrus and love, slow dancing in the living room, promises whispered late at night.  
The past, the present, the future. 

“It never has for me,” Harry replies, “It’s easier than falling asleep.” 

\- 

A single lonely star flickers in the night sky. 

“Scared, Potter?”  
“You wish, Malfoy.” 

The world fades to black. 

\- 

_About the end of everything._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I've never shared any of my work before, but I thought this little piece might be a good place to start. Kudos and comments would be deeply appreciated.
> 
> Take your meds and stay safe <3


End file.
